No Rock to Big - Just Ask!

Memory Verse: Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in time of trouble”

Your path in life is littered with “rocks” that slow you down, cause you to trip and fall and sometimes they are so big they actually stop you in your tracks. Your walk with God just stops until you can overcome or move that “rock” out of the way. Sometimes life is full of insurmountable obstacles too large to move yet you still try to move them all by yourselves. As teens, what kinds of “rocks” do you have in your life? What “rocks” have you found in your life that is too big to move? Have you tried to deal with them all by yourself? What happened when you did?

How many times do you battle these “rocks” in your life all by yourself? You push and shove and try with all your might to move the “rock”, only to eventually fail in utter defeat. Don’t give up; stop trying to do it all by yourself. Ask the only One who can help you. The One who created everything in the universe. The strongest help we can ask. What can you ask God for when trying to move a “rock” in your life? (wisdom, strength, courage, help, patience, etc.)

Matthew 16:24-25 24 “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

Your book gives the example of a young boy, Keith, 5- years old, who is playing in his sandbox. He wants to build roads and tunnels for his toy vehicles. All of a sudden in the middle of digging out a tunnel for his toy train he hits an obstacle. Determined to move this obstacle out of the way, he begins to dig. He uncovers a huge rock buried in the ground. With all of his might he shoves and digs and pushes with all of his might. He has to move this rock in order to build his train tunnel. He pushes and shoves and tries to dig it out. One small corner is revealed and he gets his fingers under it and lifts. The rock moves just a tiny bit only to roll back onto his fingers. With all his effort, all he got was smashed fingers. Frustrated and hurting he bursts into tears.

All during this time, Keith’s dad has been watching his son battle the rock. When Keith starts crying his dad rushed in to rescue him. Keith tells his dad, “I used all the strength I had, Daddy.” His dad replied, “No, Keith, you didn’t use all the strength you had. You didn’t ask me. I would have helped you move that rock. All you had to do was ask.”

Why did Keith’s dad just watch Keith and not just run in and help him as soon as he saw that his son was struggling with the rock? (He allowed Keith to find out for himself that he couldn’t move the rock by himself without help)

Was Keith’s dad slow to help his son? (Not at all. Keith’s dad waited for Keith to ask him to help)

What did Keith learn from this? (He learned to ask someone who is stronger – his dad – for help. He doesn’t have to try to move the rock all by himself. His dad is ready and willing to help, if asked to do so.)

The story of when Jesus fed 5,000 people with only 5 loaves of bread and two fish illustrates this. Jesus had preached to the people all day and now it was getting late. The people needed to eat. Jesus’ disciples wanted to send them away into the town so they could get something to eat. Jesus told His disciples to feed these people. His disciples protested they didn’t have enough money to buy food to feed all those people. Jesus asked them how much food they had. A boy had 5 loaves of barley bread and two fish – not nearly enough to feed 5,000 people – an insurmountable obstacle – a “rock”, if you will. Jesus took those 5 loaves and two fish and gave thanks to God and blessed them, broke them and passed the pieces out to his disciples. No one left hungry. In fact, there were twelve baskets of leftovers! You will find this story in Matthew 14:13-21 and John 6:1-14.

John 6:1-14 1” After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. 2 A huge crowd kept following him wherever He went, because they saw His miraculous signs as he healed the sick. 3 Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around Him. 4 (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) 5 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for Him. Turning to Philip, He asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” 6 He was testing Philip, for He already knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” 8 Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. 9 “There’ s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” 10 “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward He did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. 12 After everyone was full, Jesus told His disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. 14 When the people saw Him[ do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, He is the Prophet we have been expecting!” 15 When Jesus saw that they were ready to force Him to be their king, He slipped away into the hills by Himself.”

Jesus knew that if He did this miracle, the people would never leave Him alone, yet He still did it. Their need for food was greater than His desire for privacy. He took compassion on them and moved their “rock” for them.

God will do the same for you. He may not remove the “rock” but if He doesn’t, He makes Himself available to help you, giving you the patience, wisdom and strength to deal with that “rock”.

Psalm 46:1 1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

The human way is to push and shove and dig and search for an alternate path, wearing yourself out in the process. God wants you to admit to yourselves that you cannot move this rock all by yourself. You need His help. You need Him.

God is always there for you, if you ask. He wants you to ask Him for the help you need to overcome or move the “rocks’ in your life. He wants you to admit to yourself that you can’t do it all by yourself – you need someone who is stronger and more powerful than you. He wants you to give it to Him to take care of.

Matthew 11:28 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 7:7-11 7 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him.”

Do you want to continue to push and shove the “rocks” in your life or do you want to trust your Heavenly Father to move them for you or to give you the strength you need to move them. All you need to do is ask Him for help. He is waiting for you. Just ask Him. Remember that we have a Rock that will help us to move our “rocks”.

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